


Papa Kissing Santa

by Anica



Series: Hanni-verse [45]
Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, Frustrated Will, Hannibal is not helping, Is Papa kissing Santa Claus?, M/M, Or Helping in Very Hannibal Ways, Post Mpreg, Questioning The Existence of Santa, That's Not Right!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-09
Updated: 2017-01-09
Packaged: 2018-09-16 02:25:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9269516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anica/pseuds/Anica
Summary: Hanni is questioning the existence of the Almighty Santa and Will is doing his best to either answer his questions or distract him. Hannibal wouldn't be Hannibal if he made this easy for Will.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Are we still doing Christmas? 
> 
> No Beta but I gave it to my buddy to read and was told this might be the best piece of literature of our generation. 
> 
> I'm kidding.
> 
> No one wants to be my buddy.

*About 3 Weeks Until Christmas*

“Where do you think this one should go?” Will asked his six year old son as he held up the colorful snowman ornament. It clashed with the white theme they had in the previous years but he felt it was about time their tree looked more like something that was put together by a family instead of a marketing team. “Got some room by you?”

Hanni nodded and took the snowman to put it near the bottom.

“Rocket ship?” Will held it up and laughed at his husband’s scowl. “What?”

“I do not understand what rocket ships have to do with Christmas?”

“What do trees have to do with Christmas?” Will muttered, moving in close so the boy wouldn’t hear. “It’s just ornaments. They don’t have to make sense.” 

Hannibal sighed and forced himself to smile as their son inched his way over to them, trying to listen in. He was not a fan of the holiday season but could not deny he was fond of the joy it brought his boys. While it didn’t change that some things made no sense to him, he was willing to set them aside for the moment to see them happy.

“It’s a rocket ship,” he smiled down at Hanni. “It should be close to the top.”

Hanni nodded and laughed when Will swung him up in the air, placing him on his shoulders.

“Here, Papa?” Hanni asked, reaching for spot just below where their star would go.

“Perfect.” He didn’t have to force his smile now. He stood on his toes, his hand on Will’s arm as he reached up to kiss his son.

“What's next?” Will asked, holding on to the boy’s ankles as he swung his shoulders around.

“Santa?” Hannibal pulled an old, worn ornament that he found among Will’s things. It wasn’t as old as the man but couldn’t be more than a few years off.

Hannibal looked up just in time see the boy frown and lean closer to Will’s head.

“Daddy?” His voice was low and he sounded unsure. “Duncan said Santa isn’t real.”

Will hesitated, thumb brushing over the plastic figurine, before craning his neck back to get a look at his son. 

“Why would Duncan say something like that?”

Hanni shrugged. “His big brother told him. He’s a big boy and said Santa is for babies.”

“Oh, I see.” Will patted his knee. “Maybe he wasn’t a good boy this year and is upset that Santa isn’t going to bring him anything?”

Hanni nodded thoughtfully. “He isn’t nice. He never lets us have a turn when we want to play with the Xbox.”

“He doesn’t sound nice at all,” Will said passing the Santa over and pointing to an open spot that he could have reached easily on his own. 

“But Santa is real, right?”

“Of course Santa is real.” Will could feel Hannibal’s eyes on him and returned it with a glare of his own. He might not see a point to their son believing in Santa or magic but it was a part of childhood and Will was reluctant for their son to lose it so early on in life. “Right, Hannibal?”

The older man handed over a sparkly penguin with a tight, serious nod. “Yes, St. Nicholas was real.”

The sting of deception was eased by the smile he received.

“I knew it! Matty is just mean. I can’t wait to tell Duncan!” His smile wavered as he hung the next ornament. 

“Santa isn’t going to be mad at Duncan, is he? For not believing?”

“No.” Will glanced back at him to give him a reassuring smile. “Santa will understand.”

“Seems like we’re just about done,” Hannibal said, holding up their topper.

“Want to put it on?” Will asked, swinging the boy around, ready to hand him over.

Hanni gave an excited nodded before shaking his head. “I did it last year, Daddy. You can do it!”

“Me?” Will laughed. “I don’t think I can reach, buddy.” 

“Papa will help,” he said glancing over at the older man. “Papa is really strong.”

Will chuckled, eying the doctor as he tried not to flush with pride. “Only if you’re sure.”

“I’m sure,” Hanni nodded.

“What about you, old man?” Will asked, the twinkle in his eyes outshining the tree they had decorated. “Think you’re strong enough to lift me.”

His response was a glare as he was beckoned over with a crook of a finger. It made his heart skip a beat when underneath it all he saw the playfulness that was so carefully hidden. Hanni must have seen it too because he giggled.

The star was handed over and Hannibal wasted no time wrapping an arm around Will’s thigh and hoisting him up onto his shoulder.

Will gasped. While he had never had a fear of heights and the utmost trust in Hannibal’s ability to keep him safe, he couldn’t help but be unnerved by the position he found himself in.

“Will,” Hannibal’s voice brought him back. “I would appreciate it if you found a different source for stability.”

Will glanced down, realizing he had grabbed on to Hannibal’s hair and winced in sympathy. “Sorry,” he said, doing his best to smooth it back into place.

Hanni was laughing loudly on the floor and Will hurried to put the star in place so he could be returned to the ground and regain some dignity.

*About 2 Weeks Until Christmas*

Hanni slowly made his way down the Lego aisle, carefully looking over each box. He picked one with superheroes on it and held it up for his fathers to see. 

“Think they’ll like this one?”

“That’s a great choice,” Will nodded towards the cart. 

“Put it in.”

Hanni carefully put the box between the art supplies and the Barbie. “If Santa is real, why do some kids get more toys than other kids?”

Will frowned. “What do you mean ‘if’?”

Hanni bit his lip and looked around, lowering his voice just in case Santa really was listening.

“Matty said that parents buy all the gifts and that’s why some kids get more toys and some get clothes.”

Will tried not to make it obvious that he was grinding his teeth. If he never heard that name again, it would be too soon. “Santa gives kids what they need sometimes and not what they want.”

Hanni’s face scrunched up and he leaned against the front end of the cart. “What’s the point of being good if it’s just for a bunch of clothes?”

“Are toys the only reason you behave?” Hannibal asked, leaning on the cart and over the small boy.

“No,” Hanni ducked his head and slipped over to the opposite side of the cart. “Not only.”

“Plenty of children do not get brand new clothes every time they grow a few inches or the seasons change.”

“I know, Papa.”

“Come on,” Will said, trying to lift the mood back up. He moved the cart forward and slipped Hanni behind the handles, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “We have some more toys to buy.”

“Does Santa bring everyone gifts? Even the children that don’t believe?”

Will’s head rolled back and he rubbed his face. He wanted to his son to have the magical Christmas but the boy was making it really difficult. “No, Santa only brings to those that believe.”

“Are we buying toys for those that don’t believe?” He turned back to look at his daddy. “Because Santa will bring presents to those that do believe, right? It’s not fair if some kids get presents from Santa and us and others don’t get any at all.” 

“He does have a very good point,” Hannibal said, proud of his reasoning skills as well as amused by how flustered Will was getting.

“We’re donating these toys to those that are less fortunate,” Will said a bit too sharply as he glared from one to the other, stopping the cart with a firm grip on the handle. “What happens after we donate them is not up to us. Now, do you want to put this stuff back or should we keep going?”

“Keep going,” Hanni mumbled softly as he started to push the cart again. “Daddy, does Santa give more toys to the really good children? Is that why some get less.”

Will bit back a groan. “No, just because someone got more toys does not mean they are better than someone who got less.” Will shook his head in frustration. “Why don’t you go pick out a remote controlled car. I bet somebody would love that.”

Hanni nodded and took off down the aisle and Will hoped the distraction would be enough to make him forget his questions at least for the rest of the day.

“How much longer do you think you’ll be able to keep this up?” Hannibal softly asked.

“At least another few years!” Will growled back. “Stop encouraging the questions.”

“I’m afraid that is not something I can do.” He made to move past the younger man only to have his arm grabbed.

“Don’t ruin this for me Hannibal!”

“For you?” There was a slight quirk of the eyebrow and a head tilt. “I believe you meant for him.”

Will opened and shut his mouth, looking over at his son. He looked so defeated for a moment that Hannibal couldn’t help but want to make it right. He covered Will’s hand with his own and gave it a squeeze.

“I draw the line at lying.”

Will smiled in gratitude. “No one tells the truth quite like you.”

*About 1 Week Until Christmas*

“Are you cold?” Hannibal asked, coming out of the house to fuss over the boy. “We can go inside if you're getting cold.”

“Papa,” Hanni whined. “We're building a snowman.”

“He's fine, Hannibal,” Will insisted as he helped the boy with the snowman’s midsection. 

“He didn't say he was fine, only that he had to finish the snowman,” Hannibal told him as he pulled their son away from their oversized snowball. He fixed Hanni’s scarf as the kid squirmed, trying to cover most of his face. “Should I do Daddy's scarf too?”

Hanni had been annoyed by all the tugging and fixing but the idea of his father going through it too seemed hilarious. “He's not wearing a hat,” he giggled.

Will stuck his tongue out, laughing as his scarf was rearranged and Hannibal’s fuzzy hat was pulled over his head. “What about you?”

“I was much better prepared for the cold during my childhood than you were during yours.”

“How about putting those skills to work?” Will suggested as he returned to their snowman. 

He smiled. Their apple cider could wait. 

“Daddy?” Hanni asked as he started working on the head while his fathers tried to get the midsection on without breaking it. “Remember when we went see Santa last week?”

“Yes, of course.” 

“Was that the real Santa?” Hanni asked softly, trying to act like he was more interested in the snow than the answer. 

“Hu?” Will's head jerked up and he turned from the kid to Hannibal, wondering if his husband had anything to do with the boy’s doubt. “What do you mean?”

“Kyle said he went to see Santa on Sunday but he was visiting his grandma in NY and that's very far away,” Hanni said, abandoning the snowball and going over to stand by them.

“Oh, I see.” Will shot Hannibal an apologetic smile. “We went pretty early, maybe Santa went to New York after lunch. They have pretty good bagels there.”

Hanni shook his head. “Kyle had a picture. He looked like the Santa I saw but he wasn't the same Santa!”

“Are you sure?” Will kneeled in front of him. “Sometimes we look different in pictures.”

“I'm sure, his beard was shorter and…” Hanni's voice dropped and he leaned in, well aware that what he was about to say was not very nice. “He was fatter.”

“Was he?” Will laughed.

Hanni nodded, not the slightest bit amused. “What if the real Santa was in New York? Who did we go see?”

Will sighed as he pulled the boy closer. “Santa works really hard all year to make sure he has enough toys for all the good children and that means sometimes he doesn't get a chance to visit all of them so he gets some helpers to come visit the children when he can’t.”

“So he wasn't the real Santa?” Hanni asked, instantly crushed.

Will gave Hannibal a helpless look as he tried to come up with a better explanation, one that was age appropriate and wouldn’t ruin Christmas for the boy.

“There is no way to know,” Hannibal told him as he kneeled beside them. “Santa can’t reveal his real location because it wouldn't be fair to the helpers. Some children might be very rude if they knew they were only talking to a helper instead of the real Santa.”

“I wouldn't be rude,” Hanni insisted. 

“We know,” Will told him, leaning into Hannibal. “Papa and I are always so proud you.”

Hanni chewed on his lip for a moment. “He seemed real to me.”

“Well, then maybe you shouldn't tell Kyle. He might be upset.” Will ruffled his hair and stood up. “Let's finish up, it's getting pretty late.”

He went to retrieve the forgotten head and knew something was wrong as soon as he heard that mischievous giggle. He spun around just in time for Hannibal's snowball to hit him in the chest. 

The older man only grinned, grabbed the laughing boy and pulled him close. 

“Are you using our son as a shield?”

“A weapon,” Hannibal told him, his smile growing as he passed the boy a snowball. 

By the time they made it back in, their creation had been destroyed in favor of more resources for their battle and everything but their faces had been fair game. 

“Thank you,” Will whispered when Hanni ran off to wash up. 

“I don’t like contributing to this dissolution,” Hannibal said, slipping a hot mug of apple cider into his hands.

“As opposed to the one we contribute to every day?” Will huffed as he let the steam warm his face. 

“Don’t be rude, Will.” Hannibal leaned in and snapped his jaw close to his ear. “Or I’ll be forced to tell Santa.”

*About 1 Day Until Christmas*

“I think Santa is going to love your madeleines!” Will said, watching his son fill the little forms carefully.

The boy gave a noncommittal shrug. “Matty said that if Santa was real, he wouldn’t be able to eat all the cookies and snacks that are left out for him.”

“Doesn’t Matty have any friends his own age?” Hannibal asked, measuring out ingredients for the next batch. Will was pleased to hear just a touch of an edge in his tone. He felt somewhat less alone in his battle against Matty.

“Santa burns off the calories delivering all the   
presents.” Will took the tray from the boy. “Get the oven door for me.”

“How does he keep track of all the boys and girls?” he asked, following his daddy as he set the time for their cakes. “Mrs. Jones can’t even tell when Jimmy sneaks out of class and there are only sixteen kids in my class.”

“I hope you don’t plan to follow his example,” Hannibal told him, swinging him onto the island and handing over the mixer. “Hold it tightly.”

“Papa, how does Santa keep track of all the children?”

“We are not going to yell over the mixer,” Hannibal told him, one hand firmly on the boy’s hip and the other on the bowl, keeping them both in place.

“Well?” Hanni asked impatiently when the mixture turned thick and it was time to fold the flour in. “How does Santa do it?”

“A spread sheet,” Will told him, pulling the ready batch out of the oven. “Probably on his tablet.”

“But how does he know? He doesn’t really watch me, does he?”

“Why?” Will grinned as he looked up from the cakes. “Have you been naughty?”

Both fathers were amused when the boy took a second to think about it before shaking his head. “No, I’ve been good.”

“We know, Daddy was only teasing,” Hannibal told him, kissing his forehead and placing him back on his step stool. “Can you help me spoon the batter into the molds just as before while I start on the next batch?”

“Won’t it be too much?”

Hannibal winked at him and gave a head nod towards his husband. Hanni turned just in time to see his Daddy pop the small madeleine into his mouth and hiss when he realized it was still too hot. “At least one more batch.”

“At least,” Hanni agreed with a giggle and started to work on carefully filling the forms. It was quiet for a few minutes before the boy realized that they never answered his question. “Daddy? So how does Santa know who is being good and who is being bad?”

“Maybe he has helpers?” Will suggested. “Teachers, babysitters, and doctors let him know who’s been good when things get busy.” He grinned. “Maybe even daddies.”

“Do you?”

“Maybe,” Will shrugged. “Maybe not.”

“Daddy!” Hanni stomped his foot, making the stool wobble and both man sprint to catch him.

Will got there first, snatching him up, and ignoring the batter that sprayed the counter and his shirt.

“I’m sorry.” He was quick to apologize before he could be reprimanded. 

“Keep the attitude up and you’ll be going straight to bed,” Will warned as he set him back on his stool. 

“Understand?”

Hanni quickly nodded “Yes, Daddy.”

Hannibal handed him a towel and pointed at the mess but didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to.

There was tense silence as the boy cleaned everything within reach. Will eased it by bringing him a madeleine. He brushed the boy’s hair back and gave his head a kiss.

“Think you can help me out?” Will asked, pointing to where the batter had hit him. Hanni was happy to do it, doing his very best not to make it worse. 

When he was done, Will grabbed two spoons and started helping with the molds. The quiet didn’t last long.

“What about when someone calls from far away?” Hanni frowned and looked up, the batter missing its mark. 

“How does Santa understand?”

“Santa speaks every language out there,” Will told him, handing him the towel once again. “Think we made enough of mess for one night.”

“More than Papa?” Hanni looked doubtful as he cleaned up. “He speaks a lot of languages.”

Will chuckled and tapped the tray. “You’re doing a good job with these, buddy. Want to put this one in the oven yourself?”

Hanni beamed, being very careful with tray as his father gave him a boost. Once they were in the oven his curiosity returned. “What about homes with no chimneys? How does Santa get in?”

“Magic.” Will tried not to make it sound like a question as he spoke around a mouthful of the buttery cakes. “What’s with all the questions?”

Hanni shrugged. “I just don’t understand how Santa can do all that in one night.”

“It’s technically two nights,” Hannibal came to his rescue. “When we are just getting up, there’s a whole other side of the world that’s been awake for hours.”

There was a beat of silence and it looked like he was going to accept the answer before looking back up at Will. “Reindeer can’t fly.”

Will ignored the pride on the older man’s face. 

“Sometimes you just need to believe that anything is possible, all right?”

The nod lacked enthusiasm and he looked even more unsure than before.

“If he doesn’t come, more madeleines for us,” Hannibal tried to coax a smile out of the boy but only managed to get a small shrug.

“We're almost done here,” Will said, brushing the curls out of boy’s face. “How about we go walk the dogs, look at some lights and then have some hot chocolate?”

The boy brightened and ran off to get the dogs ready. 

“I’m sorry,” Hannibal softly said as he waited on the last batch. “I know you wanted this night to go differently."

“This night is not over just yet,” Will said, running a thoughtful hand over his cheek.

*About 15 Minutes Until Christmas.”

“I’m insulted on our son’s behalf if you believe that outfit will fool him,” Hannibal whispered in the dark hallway.

“I’m not planning to talk to him,” Will whispered back as he stuck his head in the doorway. Hanni was asleep in the armchair, bathed in the warm glow of the fireplace and the twinkling lights on the tree. “I’m just going to make enough noise to wake him and then slip away before he’s fully awake.” He turned around when he heard a chuckle. “What?”

“This is not what I imagined when I imagined you in red.”  
Will shook his head, trying to hold back a snort. “Maybe Jimmy will let me borrow it after Christmas.”

“I does nothing for me,” Hannibal denied.

“Oh come on” Will chuckled as he ran a hand down the front of his Santa suit. “I’ll let you sit on my lap and tell me what you want for Christmas.”

“You know what I want for Christmas,” Hannibal told him, slowly moving closer.

“That barista that keeps spelling your name wrong?” Will guessed, flattening himself against the wall. “One of those electric company scammers?”

Hannibal had been inches away from him when he abruptly pulled back. “I was simply going to say you but that sounds wonderful.”

Will shook his head and leaned in for a kiss. It was far more than the chaste kiss he had intended and just as he was thinking of pulling away, it was too late.

“Papa!” Hanni’s voice did not sound sleepy or the least bit confused.

Will cursed and hid his face in Hannibal’s shoulder, weighing his options.

“Hanni,” Hannibal started, calm as always but froze when the boy jerked back.

“I’m telling Daddy!” He screamed, causing both dogs to come running. “You can’t kiss Santa! You can only kiss Daddy!”

“Will!” Hannibal growled because being accused of infidelity was one thing but the hurt on his son’s face twisted the air right out of him.

But Will was already moving, kneeling by the boy so he could see him more clearly. “Hey, it’s me. It’s just me.”

“Daddy?” Hanni frowned. “Why are you dressed like Santa?”

“Well, you see Santa…” Will started to lie but stopped. One day soon his son would find out the truth and there would be only so many lies that he would be forgiven. He took a deep breath but the hand on his shoulder cut him off before he could start.

Hannibal kneeled by him and leaned in close. “Santa was running late so he called your daddy to help him out. He left them by the door and Daddy was supposed to put them under the three.”

“Is that true Daddy?” there was no missing the excitement in his voice. “Did you really talk to Santa?”

“I-“ He did a double take before turning back towards his son. “Yeah, that what happened. He was really sorry he couldn’t stop by for your madeleines but he knew you would understand.”

“What did he say?” Hanni bounced, grabbing onto his father. “Did you see the reindeer? Was he nice? What did he bring me?”

“Oh no, that’s for Christmas morning,” Will laughed and stood, taking the boy with him. “You are supposed to be in bed, remember?”

“I’ll go to bed right now,” Hanni promised. “Just tell me if you saw him!”

Will shook his head as headed for the stairs. “He was in a rush but I’m pretty sure we heard the reindeer.”

Hanni was tucked in his bed and they were almost by the door when they heard his sleepy voice, barely able to get the words out. “Why are you dressed like Santa?”

They waited by the door for a seconds but it was clear the boy was already asleep. Will shook his head, letting out a sigh and went to get the bag with presents he had left in the hallway.

“What made you change your mind about telling him the truth?”

“It didn’t seem right that you should carry the burden of all the lies alone.”

Will laughed, glancing over his shoulder as he kneeled by the tree. “There’s nothing wrong with admitting that I was right.”

“And what is it that you were right about?”

“About Hanni.” He turned back to the tree, pulling out the last colorful box from the bag. “About him needing the magic, the excitement of Christmas morning that only happens for a few short years before the world catches up with its reality.”

“Maybe,” Hannibal said, holding out a hand and pulling him to his feet. “Maybe he isn’t the only one that needs that excitement.” 

“Yeah,” Will agreed softly, happy to leave it at that. “Ready to call it a night?”

“We must if Santa is to come tonight.”

“Oh Santa is definitely going to-” Will laughed as he was cut off by large, warm hand covering his mouth. 

“No.”

“No?” It came out mumbled from behind the hand but obviously still clear enough to be understood.

“I expect better from you.”

Will laughed, pulling the hand away from his mouth and letting Hannibal replace it with his mouth. 

It was finally starting to feel like Christmas.

**Author's Note:**

> This was just in case you finally got "I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus" out of your head. You're welcome. 
> 
> I've been gone for a while but have been reading all the comments you've guys left. You guys are amazing and I wouldn't be here without your overwhelming kindness. I'm unworthy. 
> 
> P.S  
> Happy Birthday Marty!


End file.
